Walter Lantz - Biography - IMDb Walter Lantz Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (2) | Trivia (9) | Personal Quotes (2) Overview (4) The Other Walt Mini Bio (1) As the head of his own animation studio, Lantz was responsible for the creation of the first Technicolor cartoon. He also introduced the cartoon characters Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, and Woody Woodpecker. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Ray Hamel Spouse (2) (1940 - 17 March 1992) (her death) Doris Hollister (? - 1940) Trivia (9) His house (located next to animator Joseph Barbera's) was burned to ashes in the 1960s by a huge brush fire. Surprisingly, his neighbor's house was not burned at all. Since 1992, California Institute of the Arts Character Animation Program gives its highest rated student film the Walter Lantz Award; also nicknamed "The Woody". Won a special Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 1979.

Via the use of combined live action and animation, the award was "presented" by Lantz's most famous creation, Woody Woodpecker. Lantz's cartoon department was responsible for the bat-to-vampire transformation artwork in "Son of Dracula". Created Woody from a pesky woodpecker that was on top of his home. Loved Silver Lake in June Lake, California. Had a cabin there, family still owns. Married in Nevada, on his honeymoon with wife Gracie, he stopped by Silver Lake to show it to his new bride. She discovered fishing poles and a outboard motor in the trunk. June Lake's library was built by him, as was the baseball field in nearby Lee Vining. Following his death, he was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) in Los Angeles, California. Walter Lantz passed away on March 22, 1994, a month away from what would have been his 95th birthday on April 27. He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on March 5, 1986.

Personal Quotes (2) I never tried to make a cartoon for a certain age bracket. I just tried to make entertaining pictures. That's why they still play and why they play so well in foreign countries. I'll bet you never realized that all animated cartoon characters have only three fingers and a thumb. Why? I don't know. But, it certainly doesn't bother Andy Panda. See also Walter Lantz | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie twitter Biography by Sandra Brennan Over the years, animator Walter Lantz created some of the movies' most beloved characters including the laid-back Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, the sad-eyed ever-freezing penguin, and Oswald Rabbit, but his most famous creation remains the mischievous carrot-topped Woody Woodpecker. Born in New Rochelle, New York to a family of Italian immigrants, Lantz got his start cartooning for a local newspaper. He learned to do animation with Gregory La Cava and Isadore Klein at Bray Studios where they brought the Katzenjammer Kids, Mutt and Jeff and Krazy Kat to life. In the late 1920s Lantz moved to Hollywood and began working with Disney and then Universal Pictures.

He founded his own production company in 1935 and it is there that most of his characters were created. Woody was inspired by a noisy woodpecker who kept disturbing Lantz and his bride Grace Stafford on their honeymoon at Lake June, California. Grace suggested that Lantz immortalize their feathered tormentor by creating a cartoon character. The red-headed troublemaker made his first film appearance in 1941. Through the years, Woody has been played by a variety of voice actors. He was originally to be voiced by Mel Blanc , but he was already under exclusive contract with Warner Brothers. It was Grace who gave Woody his staccato "huh hah hah HA ha" laugh. In the mid '50s, many of Lantz' cartoons, especially Woody Woodpecker episodes were packaged, re-edited and shown on television. The only new animation he did for them was to introduce the cartoons and to introduce segments in which Lantz appeared sharing his secrets of animation. In 1979, Lantz received an honorary Oscar to pay tribute to his contribution of such long-lived, unique animated characters.

Movie Highlights Walter Lantz | American animator | Britannica.com American animator Walter Lantz, (born April 27, 1899, New Rochelle , New York , U.S.—died March 22, 1994, Burbank , California ), American motion-picture animator, cartoon producer, and creator of the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker. Walter Lantz, 1983. Alan Light At age 16, Lantz worked as a newspaper cartoonist and began experimenting with animation that same year. In 1922 he went to work for Bray Studios in New York City , where he collaborated on several series, among them The Katzenjammer Kids, Happy Hooligan, Mutt and Jeff, and Colonel Heeza Liar. He also created and worked on the Pete the Pup and Dinky Doodle series. In 1927 Lantz went to California, where he found work as a gag writer for Mack Sennett and Hal Roach .

In the late 1920s he began working for Universal Studios; he continued their Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series and developed the characters Andy Panda, Li’l Eight Ball, and Winchester the Tortoise. About the same time, Lantz produced the first Technicolor cartoon sequence ever screened for the opening scenes of the feature King of Jazz (1930). His most famous creation was Woody Woodpecker, who first appeared in a bit part in the cartoon short Knock, Knock (1940) and who became the star of a long-running series of cartoons the following year. Lantz’s wife, Gracie, provided Woody’s voice, and renowned voice artist Mel Blanc originated Woody’s familiar “ha-ha-ha-HA-ha!” laugh. Excerpt from Pantry Panic (1941), a cartoon featuring Walter Lantz’s … Public Domain During World War II Lantz produced cartoons that were used as training films by the army and navy. Subsequently he produced educational films, commercial pictures, and The Woody Woodpecker Show for television. The last independent producer of theatrically distributed cartoon shorts in the business, Lantz closed his operation in 1973.

In 1979 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented him with a special honorary award for his contributions to the art of animation. In a memorable television moment, an animated Woody appeared alongside Lantz to accept the award on the live Oscar broadcast. Learn More in these related articles: Walter Lantz - Buy, Rent, and Watch Movies & TV on Flixster Walter Lantz Apr 27, 1899 Bio: Over the years, animator Walter Lantz created some of the movies' most beloved characters including the laid-back Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, the sad-eyed ever-freezing penguin, and Oswald Rabbit, but his most famous creation remains the mischievous carrot-topped Woody Woodpecker. Born in New Rochelle, New York to a family of Italian immigrants, Lantz got… More Bio: Over the years, animator Walter Lantz created some of the movies' most beloved characters including the laid-back Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, the sad-eyed ever-freezing penguin, and Oswald Rabbit, but his most famous creation remains the mischievous carrot-topped Woody Woodpecker.

Born in New Rochelle, New York to a family of Italian immigrants, Lantz got his start cartooning for a local newspaper. He learned to do animation with Gregory La Cava and Isadore Klein at Bray Studios where they brought the Katzenjammer Kids, Mutt and Jeff and Krazy Kat to life. In the late 1920s Lantz moved to Hollywood and began working with Disney and then Universal Pictures. He founded his own production company in 1935 and it is there that most of his characters were created. Woody was inspired by a noisy woodpecker who kept disturbing Lantz and his bride Grace Stafford on their honeymoon at Lake June, California. Grace suggested that Lantz immortalize their feathered tormentor by creating a cartoon character. The red-headed troublemaker made his first film appearance in 1941. Through the years, Woody has been played by a variety of voice actors. He was originally to be voiced by Mel Blanc, but he was already under exclusive contract with Warner Brothers. It was Grace who gave Woody his staccato "huh hah hah HA ha" laugh.

In the mid '50s, many of Lantz' cartoons, especially Woody Woodpecker episodes were packaged, re-edited and shown on television. The only new animation he did for them was to introduce the cartoons and to introduce segments in which Lantz appeared sharing his secrets of animation. In 1979, Lantz received an honorary Oscar to pay tribute to his contribution of such long-lived, unique animated characters. Walter Lantz (Creator) - TV Tropes Walter Lantz You need to login to do this. Get Known if you don't have an account Share The other Walt of the Golden Age. "I'm just a little old cartoonist, tryin' to make a buck." A prominent animator and director of cartoons during The Silent Age of Animation , The Golden Age of Animation and The Dark Age of Animation , and was the creator of characters like Andy Panda , Chilly Willy , and most famous of all, Woody Woodpecker . Incidentally, he and Walt Disney were great friends throughout their lives. This is likely due to both of their relationships with Universal Pictures . You can find more info on his cartoons, as well as a complete filmography of his work, here.

An autobiography has also been published called "The Walter Lantz Story.", with a new one coming up called "Walter Lantz: Legends of Animation". Works of Walter Lantz: Dinky Doodle : A series of silent comedies in the vein of Max Fleischer's " Out of the Inkwell " series and Walt Disney's Alice Comedies , starring Lantz himself alongside his characters. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (1929-1943): After Oswald was taken from Disney, Lantz eventually got hold of Oswald from Charles Mintz. This character would promptly become Lantz's first successful character. He lasted for 143 shorts under Lantz's tenure, making him Lantz's second most successful star. Pooch the Pup (1932-1933): A short lived attempt at giving Lantz an alternative series to Oswald. Lasted for 13 shorts. Peterkin: A oneshot cartoon with a character designed by William Pogony. Cartune Classics (1934-1942, 1953-1957): A series of oneshot cartoons starring misc. characters.

Meany, Miny and Moe (1936-1937): A 13 short series centered around a trio of monkeys that initially appeared in an Oswald short. This was one of many attempts Lantz made to find another star series. Nertsury Rhyme: 2 theatrical shorts from 1939. New Universal Cartoon (1938): Lasted for 16 shorts. Baby-Face Mouse Andy Panda (1939-1949): Lantz's successor to Oswald, only to be succeeded by Woody Woodpecker. Lasted for 24 shorts. Woody Woodpecker (1941-1972): Lantz's most famous character. He lasted for an impressive 195 cartoons. Swing Symphonies (1941-1945): A series of Animated Music Videos , themed around Boogie Woogie tunes. Lasted for 14 shorts. Musical Miniatures (1946-1948): An offshoot of Swing Symphonies, centered around classical music. Lasted for six shorts.

Chilly Willy (1953-1972): Lantz's third most well known star, lasting for 50 shorts. Pepito Chickeeto (1957): A oneshot cartoon. Sugarfoot (1954): A recurring character of Lantz, managed to get two theatrical cartoons to himself. The Beary Family (1962-1972): Lasted for 28 shorts. Inspector Willoughby (1958-1965): Lasted for 17 shorts. Foolish Fables (1953-1955): Lasted for 3 shorts. Hickory, Dickory and Doc (1959-1962): Lasted for 8 shorts. Homer Pigeon (1942-1956): A character that popped up in three shorts. Lil' Eightball: A blackface character that was one of several attempts to give Lantz a new star. Only lasted for 3 shorts in 1939. Maggie And Sam (1955-1957): Lasted for 4 shorts.

Maw and Paw (1953-1955): Lasted for 4 shorts. Windy and Breezy (1957-1959): Lasted for 5 shorts. Cola-Cola Ads (1948-1953): Over the course of several years, Lantz cranked out 19 ads for the classic soft drink. The King of Jazz (1930): Lantz provided the opening segment for this movie. Boy Meets Dog (1938): A oneshot toothpaste ad (no kidding) based on the "Reg'lar Fellers" comic strip. The Amazing Recovery of Inbad The Ailer (1939): An industrial film made by Lantz for the World Fair, although it is now considered lost. An 18 page booklet with stills from the film are all that is known to exist of it today. Take Heed, Mr. Tojo: A Wartime Cartoon that was outsourced to Lantz by Warner Bros. It was the fourth entry of the short lived ''Seaman Hook' series. The Enemy Bacteria (1945): An instructional film made for the military.

Reddy Made Magic (1946): An educational film featuring the Alabama Power Company character Reddy Kilowatt. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein : The studio animated the opening cartoon for the film. Sioux City Sue (1946): Lantz contributed a brief animated segment to this otherwise live action feature. The Egg And I (1947): A promotional short made to promote Universal's 1947 feature The Egg And I. This short is currently lost. The Story of Human Energy (1947): An educational film produced by Lantz for the Corn Products Refining Company. Destination Moon (1950): At the request of George Pal, the films producer, Lantz contributed a brief animated segment starring the newly redesigned Woody Woodpecker , explaning rocket propulsion to the audience. Jungle Medics (1960): This short was made as a possible pilot for a TV series, although it did get a theatrical release. Space Mouse (1960): This short was the first animated appearance of a comic who was created for Lantz's comic books. Possible pilot for a TV series.

Tropes used in his works: Animated Anthology : Lantz's long lasting hit program The Woody Woodpecker Show. Art Evolution : The studio went through a fair amount of it, and its worth noting that before the 50s, the studio never really had an established house style. Their earliest work had a very rubbery, bizarre feel to it; Lantz began working with a hyper-cute style in about 1933, while the studio's other director, Bill Nolan kept with the original approach until his firing at the end of the following year, cementing Lantz's cutesy style as the one used by the studio. This lasted until 1938, when Lantz allowed a number of animators the chance of directing, leading the studio's cartoons in 1938-39 having a range of different styles. By the end of 1939 things had settled down to having Alex Lovy as the main director, and their cartoons became amateurishly drawn, misguided attempts at imitating the West-Coast animation style pioneered by Disney and Looney Tunes shorts, and suffered from mushy animation.

Shamus Culhane tried to beef up the studios art quality with Disney-esque articulation, with varying degrees of success, but this was impeded by indifference from most of the artists, as well as sloppy inking and inbetween work. Dick Lundy managed to bring genuine, albeit budget constrained, Disney-quality animation to the studio during his tenure. From the 50's and onward, Lantz switched to a more conservative, stiffer art style for the rest of the studios life. Balloon-Bursting Bird : The 1970 Beary Family cartoon "The Unhandy Man" has Charlie Beary trying to install a garage door opener on his own . One of his attempts to get his garage door open involves a big balloon, which fails when a bird pops the balloon. Benevolent Boss : Walter was considered by his employees to be one of the best employers to work for during the Golden Age. It helped that, unlike producers like Fred Quimby of MGM or Eddie Selzer of Warner Bros., Lantz actually liked making cartoons and had firsthand experience as an animator and director in addition to producing and even editing his own films, so he had a lot of understanding and sympathy for the artists in his studio.

Animator Alex Lovy in particular praised Lantz for this in the Walter Lantz Story. Bowdlerize : When Lantz brought his cartoons to TV, a lot of them went through heavy editing to appease the censors—and some, like "Abou Ben Boogie" and "Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat" were banned outright. Everything's Better with Penguins : Chilly Willy. Long Runner : Lantz's studio was the longest surviving theatrical cartoon studio, thanks in part to Lantz being accustomed to working with low budget cartoons, and thus having no problem adjusting to the rise of the Dark Age . However, the studio finally gave up the ghost in 1972, as theatrical cartoons had become completely unprofitable by that point. Missing Episode : Universal claims that some of the negatives to the studios early 30's output have been lost. Ms. Fanservice : Some of his shorts demonstrated this, such as "Scrub Me Mama With a Boogie Beat", "Abou Ben Boogie" and "The Greatest Man in Siam". Off Model : The early Lantz shorts were prone to shameless animation goofs.

The Pardon : One of the Inspector Willoughby shorts features a man trying to escape prison. During the last attempt, he tries to ram the gates but then Inspector Willoughby just opens them and informs him he's been pardoned. He then wants to be let back in prison. Public Domain Animation : A handful of his shorts have slipped into the Public Domain , most notably the Woody Woodpecker short "Pantry Panic", as well as "Scrub Me Mama With A Boogie Beat". Roger Rabbit Effect : Lantz started using this in his Dinky Doodle shorts, used again in the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short "Puppet Show", the ending of "100 Pygmies and Andy Panda", and used it again in the bridging segments of The Woody Woodpecker Show. Rotoscoping : Blatantly used at several points in "Just a Jitterbug". Stealth Pun : Later title cards in his cartoons featured Woody riding a horse, while carrying a large lance poking through the words "A Walter Lantz Production". Wartime Cartoon : Lantz did several of these, most notably "The Enemy Bacteria", as well as a Warner Bros.

"Seaman Hook" short that was outsourced to his studio, the short being "Take Heed, Mr. Tojo". Even his mainstream theatrical shorts had some nods to the war going on, most notably "Ration Bored". :: Indexes :: Woody Woodpecker | Walter Lantz Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit Woody's wild days were numbered, however. In 1946, Lantz hired Disney veteran Dick Lundy to take over the direction chores for Woody's cartoons. Lundy rejected Culhane's take on the series and made Woody more defensive; no longer did the bird go insane without a legitimate reason. Lundy also paid more attention to the animation, making Woody's new films more Disney-esque in their design style, animation, and timing. Lundy's last film for Disney was the Donald Duck short Flying Jalopy . This cartoon is played much like a Woody Woodpecker short, right down to the laugh in the end. It also features a bad guy named "Ben Buzzard" who bears a strong resemblance to Buzz Buzzard , a Lantz character introduced in the 1948 short Wet Blanket Policy who would eventually succeed Wally Walrus as Woody's primary antagonist.

In 1947, contract renewal negotiations between Lantz and Universal (now Universal-International) fell through, and Lantz began distributing his cartoons through United Artists . [2 ] The UA-distributed Lantz cartoons featured higher-quality animation, the influence of Dick Lundy (the films' budgets remained the same). [3 ] Former Disney animators such as Fred Moore and Ed Love began working at Lantz, and assisted Lundy in adding touches of the Disney style to Woody's cartoons. "The Woody Woodpecker Song" Wet Blanket Policy, directed by Dick Lundy, introduced Woody's new adversary Buzz Buzzard and featured Woody's Academy Award-nominated theme song, "The Woody Woodpecker Song." Edit In 1947, Woody got his own theme song when musicians George Tibbles and Ramey Idriss wrote "The Woody Woodpecker Song", making ample use of the character's famous laugh. Kay Kyser 's 1948 recording of the song, with Harry Babbitt 's laugh interrupting vocalist Gloria Wood , became one of the biggest hit singles of 1948.[ citation needed ] Other artists did covers, including Woody's original voice actor, Mel Blanc .

Lantz first used "The Woody Woodpecker Song" in the 1948 short Wet Blanket Policy , and became the first and only song from an animated short subject to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song . [4 ] Lantz soon adopted the song as Woody's theme music, and due to the song's popularity, Woody Woodpecker fan clubs sprang up, theaters held "Woody" matinées, and boys got the "Woody Woodpecker" haircut.[ citation needed ] "The Woody Woodpecker Song" and the Woody Woodpecker cartoons made extensive use of Woody's famous laugh, upsetting the man who created it, Mel Blanc. (The laugh, in a different recording, was first used for the seminal Bugs Bunny prototype character in Elmer's Candid Camera ). Although Blanc had only recorded four shorts as the voice of Woody, his laugh had been recorded as a stock sound effect, and used in every subsequent Woody Woodpecker short up until this point. Blanc sued Lantz and lost, but Lantz settled out of court when Blanc filed an appeal.

While Lantz would stop using Blanc's Woody Woodpecker laugh as a stock effect in the early 1950s, Blanc's voice would be heard saying "Guess who?" at the beginning of every cartoon for the duration of the Woody Woodpecker series. Later films Edit As Lantz was struggling financially, Woody's longevity was secured when he made the jump to television in The Woody Woodpecker Show on ABC . The half-hour program consisted of three theatrical Woody shorts followed by a brief look at cartoon creation hosted by Lantz. It ran from 1957 to 1958 then entered syndication until 1966. It was later revived by NBC in 1970, and again in 1976. In addition, the woodpecker was no longer dishing out abuse to his foils, but was instead on the receiving end. The first notable short to feature Woody as the straight man was 1961's Franken-Stymied . Woody's popularity had been based on his manic craziness, and by 1961, this had all but been eliminated in favor of a more serious Woody, one that was trying to do good.

This was due in part to Woody's large presence on television, which meant Lantz had to meet the stringent rules against violence for children's television. Woody continued to appear in new theatrical shorts until 1972, when Lantz closed his studio's doors due to rising production costs. His cartoons returned to syndication in the late 1970s. Lantz sold his library of Woody shorts to MCA / Universal in 1985. Universal repackaged the cartoons for another syndicated Woody Woodpecker Show in 1987. A year later, Woody made a brief cameo in Who Framed Roger Rabbit , voiced by Cherry Davis, near the end of the film. In 1995, Woody appeared in a Pepsi commercial with NBA star Shaquille O'Neal . Woody Woodpecker reappeared in the Fox Kids series The New Woody Woodpecker Show , which ran on Saturday mornings from 1999 to 2002. For this series Woody's appearance was redesigned to look more like his mid-1940s look instead of the classic look he had sported for years afterward.

To that effect, his crest was pushed back and his eyes were once again made green. Winnie Woodpecker, who had debuted in Real Gone Woody in 1954, became a semi-regular character as Woody's primary love interest. Like Woody, Winnie received a redesign that made her look almost exactly like Woody did from 1947 until 1972, with the obvious differences being that she was a female woodpecker and had blue eyes. Woody's primary antagonist was Wally Walrus, who became Woody's neighbor (Woody lived in a tree house in Wally's backyard). Buzz Buzzard often made appearances, as did Ms. Meany and several other older characters. Woody and Winnie both appear as costumed characters at Universal Orlando , Universal Studios Japan , Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Singapore Reception The Woody Woodpecker Show was named the 88th best animated series by IGN . Legacy Edit Walter Lantz and movie pioneer George Pal were good friends.

Woody Woodpecker makes a cameo in nearly every film that Pal either produced or directed—for example, during the 1960 sequence in The Time Machine , there is a brief shot of a little girl dropping her Woody Woodpecker doll as she goes into the air raid shelter. Woody was number 46 on TV Guide 's list of the 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All-Time in 2002 and 2003. He came in at number 25 on Animal Planet 's list of The 50 Greatest Movie Animals in 2004. The character has been referenced and spoofed on many later television programs, among them The Simpsons , American Dad! , South Park , The Fairly OddParents , Family Guy and Seinfeld . The Beach Boys ' 1967 album Smiley Smile featured a song entitled " Fall Breaks and Back to Winter (Woody Woodpecker Symphony) ". Also, the first song on the 2007 Dan Deacon album Spiderman of the Rings is entitled "Wooody Wooodpecker" and makes extensive use of the character's trademark laugh. Woody Woodpecker is the mascot for the Universal Studios Theme Parks .

In 1998 and 1999, Woody appeared on the nose of the Williams Formula One Team, and in 2000, he became the official team mascot of the Honda Motorcycle Racing Team. A balloon featuring the character has long been a staple of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade . Woody Woodpecker is also the patron saint of the computer science program at Chalmers University of Technology. VHS and DVD releases Edit Woody Woodpecker's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A handful of non-comprehensive Woody Woodpecker VHS tapes were issued by Universal in the 1980s and 1990s, usually including Andy Panda and Chilly Willy cartoons as bonuses. A few were widely released on VHS in the mid-1980s by Kid Pics Video , an American company of dubious legality, which packaged the Woody cartoons with bootlegged Disney cartoons. In the early 2000s, a series of mail-order Woody Woodpecker Show VHS tapes and DVDs were made available by mail order through Columbia House .

However, following complaints about censorship (the cartoons included featured varying amounts of censorship, from restored and intact prints to severely cut TV edits), the series ended after fifteen volumes rather than the planned twenty. In 2007, Universal Studios Home Entertainment released The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection, a three-disc DVD boxed set compilation of Walter Lantz "Cartunes". The first forty-five Woody Woodpecker shorts—from Knock Knock to The Great Who-Dood-It —were presented on the box set in chronological order of release, with various Chilly Willy, Andy Panda, Swing Symphonies, and other Lantz shorts also included. [6 ] The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection: Volume 2, including the next forty-five Woody cartoons— Termites from Mars through Jittery Jester —was released in 2008. A plain-vanilla best-of release, titled Woody Woodpecker Favorites, was released in 2009, which contained no new-to-DVD material.

[7 ] Plans for further releases, as well as a region-1 DVD release of The New Woody Woodpecker Show, are currently on hold, although the 1999 series has received VHS and DVD releases outside of North America and is available for viewing on Hulu . Apart from authorized releases, the Woody Woodpecker cartoon most widely available on legal home video is Pantry Panic , as that cartoon has fallen into the public domain . DVD Name Walter Lantz - IMDb IMDb As the head of his own animation studio, Lantz was responsible for the creation of the first Technicolor cartoon. He also introduced the cartoon characters Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, and Woody Woodpecker. See full bio » Born: What Makes the Golden Globe Awards So Entertaining? IMDb Special Correspondent Dave Karger breaks down why the Golden Globes are so much more entertaining than other award shows. Don't miss our live coverage of the Golden Globes beginning at 4 p.m. PST on Jan. 8 in our Golden Globes section.

a list of 510 people created 08 Oct 2012 a list of 111 people created 21 Aug 2013 a list of 163 people created 12 Apr 2015 a list of 2346 people created 02 Jan 2016 a list of 2520 people created 11 months ago Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDbPage How much of Walter Lantz's work have you seen? User Polls Nominated for 10 Oscars. Another 4 wins.

See more awards » Known For 1961 Busman's Holiday (Short) (producer) 1961 Franken-Stymied (Short) (producer) 1960 Heap Big Hepcat (Short) (producer) 1960 Ballyhooey (Short) (producer) 1955 Bedtime Bedlam (Short) (producer) 1955 Sh-h-h-h-h-h (Short) (producer) 1945 Sliphorn King of Polaroo (Short) (producer - as Walt Lantz) 1945 Chew-Chew Baby (Short) (producer - as Walt Lantz) 1944 Abou Ben Boogie (Short) (producer - as Walt Lantz) 1944 Fish Fry (Short) (producer - as Walt Lantz) 1944 Jungle Jive (Short) (producer - as Walt Lantz) 1944 The Greatest Man in Siam (Short) (producer - as Walt Lantz) 1943 Meatless Tuesday (Short) (producer - as Walt Lantz) 1943 Take Heed Mr.

Tojo (Short) (producer - as Walt Lantz) 1943 Ration Bored (Short) (producer - as Walt Lantz) 1943 The Egg Cracker Suite (Short) (producer - as Walt Lantz) 1943 The Screwball (Short) (producer - as Walt Lantz) 1943 Cow-Cow Boogie (Short) (producer - as Walt Lantz) 1938 Happy Scouts (Short) (producer) 1938 Cheese-Nappers (Short) (producer) 1933 Hot and Cold (Short) (producer) 1933 Confidence (Short) (producer) 1931 The Hare Mail (Short) (producer) 1931 Wonderland (Short) (producer) 1931 The Stone Age (Short) (producer) 1931 Northwoods (Short) (producer) 1931 What a Doctor!

(Short) (producer) 1931 Shipwreck (Short) (producer) 1930 Snappy Salesman (Short) (producer) 1930 Henpecked (Short) (producer) 1929 Race Riot (Short) (producer) Hide 1927 S'matter Pete? (Short) (as Walt Lantz) 1927 Petering-Out (Short) (as Walt Lantz) 1951 Puny Express (Short) (animator - uncredited) 1950 Destination Moon (animation producer - uncredited) / (cartoon sequences) 1931 What a Doctor! (Short) (animator - uncredited) 1930 Tramping Tramps (Short) (animator - as Walt Lantz) 1928 Flying Elephants (Short) (animator) 1927 Romeoing (Short) (animator) 1927 S'matter Pete?

(Short) (animator) 1927 Petering-Out (Short) (animator) 1920 Chinese Question (Short) (animator) 1919 Sufficiency (Short) (animator) 1935 Springtime Serenade (Short) (composer: songs - uncredited) 1935 Candyland (Short) (composer: songs - uncredited) 1934 Jolly Little Elves (Short) (composer: songs - uncredited) Hide 1948 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (title designer - uncredited) Hide 1 Print Biography | 1 Interview | 3 Articles | See more » Alternate Names: Did You Know? Personal Quote: I'll bet you never realized that all animated cartoon characters have only three fingers and a thumb. Why? I don't know. But, it certainly doesn't bother Andy Panda. See more » Trivia: Won a special Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 1979. Via the use of combined live action and animation, the award was "presented" by Lantz's most famous creation, Woody Woodpecker.

See more » Nickname: Walter Lantz - Writer - Films as Director of Animation:, Publications Walter Lantz - Writer Walter Lantz - Writer Animator. Nationality: American. Born: New Rochelle, New York, 27 April 1900. Education: Attended the Arts Student League, New York. Family: Married 1) Doris Hollister (divorced 1940), 2) the actress Grace Stafford, 1940 (died 1992). Career: 1915–16—office boy, New York American ; also cartoonist; 1916–18—camera assistant and animator on Hearst cartoon films, Cosmopolitan: worked on Jerry on the Job series; 1918–21—animator, Barre-Bowers Studio: worked on Mutt and Jeff cartoons; 1921–27—worked at Bray Studios: first animated film as director, Col.

Heezaliar's Forbidden Fruit , 1924; 1927–29—gag writer, Mack Sennett studio; 1929–36—director at Universal; 1936–73—independent producer; directed only a few films after 1942; work for TV includes the series The Woody Woodpecker Show , 1957–66. Awards: Academy Award for The Walter Lantz Merry Old Soul , 1933; Special Academy Award, 1978. Died: Of heart failure, in Burbank, California, 22 March 1994. Films as Director of Animation: 1924 Col. Heezaliar's Forbidden Fruit ; African Jungle ; Col. Heezaliar's Ancestors ; Sky Pilot ; Col. Heezaliar's Vacation ; Col.

Heezaliar's Knighthood ; Horse Play ; The Magic Lamp ; The Giant Killer ; The Pied Piper 1925 Little Red Riding Hood ; Lyin' Tamer ; The House That Dinky Built ; Cinderella ; Peter Pan Handled ; Magic Carpet ; Robinson Crusoe ; Three Bears ; Just Spooks ; Dinky Doodle in the Circus ( Dinky Doodle in the Restaurant ) 1926 Dinky Doodle in Lost and Found ( Dinky Doodle in Uncle Tom's Cabin ; Dinky Doodle in the Arctic ; Dinky Doodle in Egypt ; Dinky Doodle in the Wild West ; Dinky Doodle and the Little Orphan ; Dinky Doodle in the Army ); The Pelican's Bill ; Dinky Doodle's Bed Time Story ; Cat's Whiskers ; The Mule's Disposition ; The Pig's Curly Tail ; For the Love 'o Pete ; Pete's Haunted House ( Party ); The Tail of the Monkey 1927 Dog Gone It ; Cat's Nine Lives ; Hyena's Laugh ; Puppy Express ; Petering Out ; S'matter, Pete?

; Lunch Hound ; Jingle Bells 1929 Ozzie of the Circus ; Stage Stunt ; Stripes and Stars ; Wicked West ; Nuts and Jolts ; Ice Man's Luck ; Wear Willies ; Jungle Jingles ; Saucy Sausages ; Race Riot ; Oil's Well ; Permanent Wave ; Cold Turkey ; Amature Nite ; Hurdy Gurdy ; Nutty Notes 1930 Chile con Carmen ; Kisses and Kurses ; Broadway Folly ; Bowery Bimboes ; Bowling Bimboes ; Tramping Tramps ; The Hash Shop ; The Prison Panic ; Hot for Hollywood ; Hell's Heels ; My Pal Paul ; Not So Quiet ; Spooks ; Hen Fruit ; Cold Feet ; Snappy Salesman ; The Singing Sap ; The Detective ; The Fowl Ball ; The Navy ; Mexico ; Africa ; Alaska ; Mars 1931 China ; College ; Shipwrecked ; The Farmer ; The Fireman ; Sunny South ; The Country School ; The Band Master ; North Woods ; The Stone Age ; Radio Rhythm ; Kentucky Bells ; Hot Feet ; The Hunter ; Wonderland ; The Hare Mail ; The Fisherman ; The Clown 193

2 Mechanical Man ; Grandma's Pet ; Wins Out ; Beau and Arrows ; Making Good ; Let's Eat ; The Winged Horse ; To the Rescue ; Cat Nipped ; A Wet Knight ; A Jungle Jumble ; Day Nurse ; The Athlete ; The Busy Barber ; The Butcher Boy ; Carnival Capers ; The Crowded Snores ; The Underdog ; Wild and Woolly ; Cats and Dogs ; The Teacher's Pests 1933 Merry Dog ; The Plumber ; The Terrible Troubadour ; The Shriek ; The Lumber Chumps ; Going to Blazes ; Beau Beste ; Nature's Workshop ; Ham and Eggs ; Pin Feathers ; Confidence ; Hot and Cold ; King Klunk ; Five and Dime ; They Done Him Right ; The Zoo ; The Merry Old Soul ; Parking Space 1934 Chicken Reel ; The Candy House ; The Country Fair ; The Toy Shoppe ; Wolf!

Wolf! ; The Ginger Bread Boy ; Annie Moved Away ; Goldielocks and the Three Bears ; The Wax Works ; William Tell ; Chris Columbus, Jr.

; The Dizzy Dwarf ; Ye Happy Pilgrims ; Jolly Little Elves ; The Sky Larks ; Spring in the Park ; Toyland Premiere 1935 Robinson Crusoe Isle ; The Hillbilly ; Two Little Lambs ; Do a Good Deed ; Candy Lamb ; Elmer the Great Dane ; Springtime Serenade ; Towne Hall Follies ; At Your Service ; Three Lazy Mice ; Bronco Buster ; Amateur Broadcast ; The Quail Hunt ; The Fox and the Rabbit ; Monkey Wretches ; The Case of the Lost Sheep ; Doctor Oswald 1936 Soft Ball Game ; Alaska Sweepstakes ; Slumberland Express ; Beauty Shoppe ; Barnyard Five ; Fun House ; Farming Fools ; Battle Royal ; Music Hath Charms ; Kiddie Review ; Beach Combers ; Night Life of the Bugs ; The Puppet Show ; Unpopular Mechanic ; Turkey Dinner ; Gopher Trouble ; Knights for a Day 1937 The Golfers ; House of Magic ; Everybody Sings ; The Big Race ; Duck Hunt ; Lumber Camp ; The Birthday Party ; Steel Workers ; Trailer Thrills ; The Stevedores ; The Wily Weasel ; Countr y Store ; The Playful Pup ; Fireman

's Picnic ; Rest Resort ; Ostrich Feathers ; Air Express ; Lovesick ; The Keeper of the Lions ; The Mechanical Handy Man ; Football Fever ; The Mysterious Jug ; The Dumb Cluck 1938 Crazy House ; Knock, Knock ; Syncopated Sioux 1941 Fair Today ; Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat ; Hysterical High Spots in American History ; Dizzy Kitty ; Salt Water Daffy ; Woody Woodpecker ; The Screwdriver ; The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B ; Man's Best Friend ; Pantry Panic ; $21.00 a Day Once a Month 1942 Hollywood Matador ; The Hams That Couldn't Be Cured ; Mother Goose on the Loose ; Goodbye Mr.

Moth 1951 Wicket Wacky ; Slingshot 67/8 ; Redwood Sap ; Woody Woodpecker Polka ; Destination Meatball 1952 Born to Peck ; Stage Hoax ; Woodpecker in the Rough ; Scalp Treatment ; The Great Who Dood It 1960 Bats in the Belfry (+ pr); Coca Cola Cartoons 1989 "Let's Try Animation," in American Cinematographer (Hollywood), September 1934. Films and Filming (London), July 1965. Griffithiana (Gemona, Italy), December 1986. "Woodpeckers, Rabbits and Pandas—Oh My!" an interview with Frank Cali, in Outré (Evanston), no. 6, 1996. On LANTZ: book— Adamson, Joe, The Walter Lantz Story , New York, 1985. On LANTZ: articles— Films and Filming (London), April 1971. American Cinematographer (Hollywood), Fall 1971.

Maltin, Leonard, in Of Mice and Magic , New York, 1980. Lenburg, Jeff, in The Great Cartoon Directors , London, 1983. Obituary, in The New York Times , 23 March 1994. Obituary, in Variety (New York), 28 March 1994. Obituary, in Time , 4 April 1994. Cali, F., "June Foray," in Outré (Evanston), vol. 1, no. 6, 1996. * * * Although his obituary in Variety called him one of the most successful and durable animation producers of all time, "Nice guys finish last" can truly be said about Walter Lantz. Lantz was the last major producer of theatrical cartoon shorts, closing shop in 1973 after 45 years in the business. Because of his pleasant personality Lantz never raided other cartoon studios for talent. And yet some of the biggest names in the business had worked for him. Tex Avery, Jack Hannah, and Hugh Harman were just three of the talents who had entered his studio over the years.

Lantz was a sound businessman and produced cartoons on a budget, though he didn't skimp on his cartoon production. Lantz began his career as an animator, and got his big break at Universal Studios where he took over the Walt Disney creation of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He made history when he and his partner Bill Nolan completed the first Technicolor cartoon. The five-minute opening sequence of Universal's multimillion dollar musical The King of Jazz was a jaunty musical number featuring Whiteman vocalist Bing Crosby. In 1935 Lantz went on to become an independent producer giving distribution rights to Universal. He was still using the character of Oswald the Rabbit, but realized that if his studio were to succeed he needed to introduce new characters. After a series of unsuccessful character creations, Lantz tried looking for animals that had never been used in cartoons before. One of Lantz's studio personnel, Alex Lovy, had come up with Andy Panda, who was to become one of Lantz's most successful characters. At first Andy starred with his thick-witted, lumbering father whom Andy always managed to get into trouble. As the series progressed Andy grew older, and the father/son story lines were dropped.

In 1940 Ben "Bugs" Hardaway joined the studios. Hardaway had recently left Warner Bros. where he created such superstar notables as Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny. His goal was to create a similar character for Lantz. He decided that the father/son pandas would provide the perfect introduction to Woody Woodpecker. Woody made his debut in Knock, Knock as a rapscallion woodpecker. Andy and Pop make every effort to get rid of the annoying woodpecker, but like Daffy and Bugs he outsmarts them, at every turn getting the better of the situation. It was in this cartoon that Woody's infamous laugh—"haha-ha-HA-ha"—was heard for the first time. Initially Woody was a rather ugly, grotesque-looking character. Over the years that changed as Woody became more likeable and easygoing. But in those early years Woody was an extremely daffy lunatic. He was unlike other Lantz characters in almost every way, often violent and excessively active. Lantz directed most of the early Woody films in an almost frenetic pace. They can easily be differentiated from the evenly paced work of Alex Lovy.

Lovy left the studio in 1942 and Lantz had to find someone to take his place. That person was James "Shamus" Culhane. He took on the Woody Woodpecker character and continued in the frantic manner of Lantz with his first Woody cartoon, The Barber of Seville . Culhane continued directing Woody Woodpecker cartoons with a similar brand of violent humor usually found in Tex Avery cartoons. After the Second World War, Lantz and his studio went through some rather hard times and he had to close down for over a year. When he finally reopened, he had to be more cost-conscious than ever. To save money, Lantz went back to directing, produced only Woody Woodpecker cartoons, and hired his wife to become the voice of Woody Woodpecker. After producing several cartoons in 1951–52, Lantz was once again able to expand his operation and increase cartoon production. In 1954 Tex Avery returned to the Lantz studios and provided a needed shot in the arm. Despite the poor quality of animation, Avery's first cartoon for Lantz, Crazy Mixed-Up Pup was nominated for an Academy Award.

Avery went on to feature a new character originally created by Alex Lovy, Chilly Willy , a penguin who desired nothing more than a warm climate. In The Legend of Rockabye Point Avery earned another Academy Award nomination. Avery soon left the studio over salary negotiations, but his influence had already seeped into the studio. When Avery left, Lovy once again returned to the studio. In 1957 Lantz began to eye television as a possible outlet for his cartoons. Jack Hannah joined the studio and began working on The Woody Woodpecker Show , which combined previous theatrical releases with newly animated sequences and live-action shots featuring Lantz himself. Woody would introduce him by saying, "Here's my boss, Walter Lantz." This segment of the show explained the process of how cartoons are created, first for television and cartoon animation. These early television programs helped Lantz to continue producing cartoons for theatrical release, although higher costs reduced the amount of animation—fewer cels per second. Chilly Willy and Woody Woodpecker remained his most popular cartoons. They lasted until Lantz retired, unable to recoup production costs quickly.

In 1979 the Motion Picture Academy honored Lantz and his contribution to the field of animation. Lantz responded by having Woody Woodpecker accept the award with him. Lantz may not be as revered as Disney but he produced satisfying cartoons, provided the world with one of the most interesting characters in Woody Woodpecker, and remained a most dedicated cartoon animator. If anyone truly loved his craft, it was Walter Lantz. —Maryann Oshana, updated by Denise Delorey User Contributions: Walter Lantz Biography | Fandango Walter Lantz Biography Apr 27, 1900 Birth Place: New Rochelle, NY Biography Over the years, animator Walter Lantz created some of the movies' most beloved characters including the laid-back Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, the sad-eyed ever-freezing penguin, and Oswald Rabbit, but his most famous creation remains the mischievous carrot-topped Woody Woodpecker. Born in New Rochelle, New York to a family of Italian immigrants, Lantz got his start cartooning for a local newspaper.

He learned to do animation with Gregory La Cava and Isadore Klein at Bray Studios where they brought the Katzenjammer Kids, Mutt and Jeff and Krazy Kat to life. In the late 1920s Lantz moved to Hollywood and began working with Disney and then Universal Pictures. He founded his own production company in 1935 and it is there that most of his characters were created. Woody was inspired by a noisy woodpecker who kept disturbing Lantz and his bride Grace Stafford on their honeymoon at Lake June, California. Grace suggested that Lantz immortalize their feathered tormentor by creating a cartoon character. The red-headed troublemaker made his first film appearance in 1941. Through the years, Woody has been played by a variety of voice actors. He was originally to be voiced by Mel Blanc , but he was already under exclusive contract with Warner Brothers. It was Grace who gave Woody his staccato "huh hah hah HA ha" laugh. In the mid '50s, many of Lantz' cartoons, especially Woody Woodpecker episodes were packaged, re-edited and shown on television.

The only new animation he did for them was to introduce the cartoons and to introduce segments in which Lantz appeared sharing his secrets of animation. In 1979, Lantz received an honorary Oscar to pay tribute to his contribution of such long-lived, unique animated characters. — Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Question: Which character was the most famous creation of cartoon film animator, Walter Lantz?
Answer: WOODY WOODPECKER